Chess or draughts board and chess or draughts man.



PATENTED. FEB. 21,1905.

. A. w; P; LIVESEY. GHESS 0R DRAUGHTS BOARD AND amass 0R DRAUGHTS MAN.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 3. 1904.

2 sums-sum 1;

INVENTOR fllfrd mZz'resey WIT/VESSES:

ATTORNEYS PATENTED FEB. 21, 1905.

A. WVP. LIVBSEY. CHESS 0R DRAUGHTS BOARD AND (mass OR DRAUGHTS MAN.

APPLIOATION FILED FEB. 3. 1904.

2 SHEETBSHEBT 2.

WITNESSES:

- IMVEIVTOR, filmed 71 111 W's-e5 A TTORIVEYS UNITED STATES PATENT Patented February 21, 1 305.

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cHEss on 'DRAUGHTS BOARD AND cal-lessee DRAUGHTS MAN.

. SPECIFICATION ibrming'part of Letters Patent No. 783,293, dated Eebruary 21, 1905..

I Application filed February 3, 1904. serial No, 191,907.

T all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALFRED WILLIAM PERCY LIvEsEY, a subject of the King of Great Britain. residing at 40 Bennett Park, Blackheath, county of Kent, England. have invented a new a-nd'useful Improvement in Chess or Draughts Boards and Chess or Draughts Men, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact de-- scription.

My invention has for its object the provision of chess and draught boards so manufactured that they can be doubled up or closed at any moment with the men standing in any tion in which they in the case of an interrupted game the board can be reopened with all the men standing in the same position which they were in when the board was closed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which'siniilar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a gameboard constituting a preferred embodiment of my invention, showing the parts in extended 1 position ready for use. Fig. 2 isa longitudinal sectional view thereof, showing the parts in partially-closed position. Fig. 3 is a plan view showi'nga modification which comes within the/ scope of my invention. Fig. 4isa longitudinal sectional viewon the line44of Fig. 3. Fig. 5'

is a side elevationof a chess or draughts man constitutinga portion of my invention. Fig. 6 is a'simi'lar view of another form of chess or' draughts man, and F ig. 7 is a perspective. view of another form ofman which also comes. within the scope of my invention. 1

In the form illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 a board or support A is provided with a hinge B, running across the middle; but it will be obvious that this hinge may be placed at any other point upon the board. The board shown has upon each of the halves a series of rectangular tubes T, the number of which is made to correspond with the number of squares required for the particular game to be played. In the present instance four square tubes on each side of the hinge'B are shown and one rectangular'tube T about half the size of one of the square tubes, The two rec posimay happen to be, so-that' tangular tubes, being next to the hinge and of the size mentioned, will together when the device is spread out, as shown in Fig. 1, constitute a substitute for artadditional square tube, making nine in all. These rectangularand square tubes are preferably made of'cardboard with hinged corners and are disposed parallel to the hinge, nearly touching each other when the parts are in an extended posi-- tion. draught-board may be made on the top surface of" these tubes, which Wiilmake a practically continuous surface.

As shown, the squares are in such position that the middle of each of the squares'passes The squares on the chess-board or over divisions S between the pairs of tubes.

' All of the four corners of each of the tubes are pliable,'so that when the board A is don bled up or closed in the ordinary way the two tubes T immediately contiguous to the hinge,

pressing against one another, are flattened out in opposite directions, each of these -tubes pressing in its turn against the next tube, and

these latteragainst the. next, and so on. All of the rectangular tubes are at the same time flattened out, and finally lie flat against the two halves of the base-boards A.

The marking of-the squares can be done ac tuallyon the top surfaces of the tubes, as shown in Figs. .1 and 2. In that case the tubes should be held together bya convenient number of thin ribbons Vof any suitable.ma

terial, running across the tops of the tubes'at right angles to the direction thereof andglued in position to each tube. For convenience these strips are so placed as to form the boundaries between eaclr two' adjacent squares or rows of squares, and one may be placed at each edge of the board, if desired. In the form shown in Figs. 3 and .4 the squares are marked on a sheet of leather L or other suitable material, which can be fastened bodily on the top surfaces of the tubes. In this. case slits F are cut .in the sheet in the middle of the square exactly over the divisions between the tubes. These slits are preferably about "one-half the width of the squares and are provided for the insertion of the feet or prolongations of the chessmen and draughtsmen to be used.

it will be noticed that-in the form shown in Fig. 1' the men are held merely by the two' side surfaces of the contiguous tubes. which come in the centers of the squares marked on the tops of the tubes.

It will be ohyious that as the boards are swung outwardly from the closed or. folded position through the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 1, the tubesall-being connected together either by the tapesV or V the leather or other coveringL, all the tubes will gradually rise through a constantly-increasing angle until they stand erect.

The chessmen, d raughtsmemor other men to-be. used for playing the game are out in any desired shape or outline, thelower ends having a prolongation orfoot which can-be pushed down between two tubes in the space S, either through the slits F or not,as the case may be. The men are consequently held erect by the contact with the surfaces of therectangular tubes, .as'shown in Figs. 2 and 4. I

Figs. 5, 6. and 7 represent these men, and in these figures they are in the form of chessmen m, each having the foot or prolongation 7).- These three figures show different forms i of men. In Fig. 5 a chessman is shown cut out in outline, so as to represent the vertical section of an ordinary solid chessman, while in Fig. 6 the chessman is shown in such form as to represent the perspective outline of a similar solid chessman. These patterns will be either planeor shaded to represent the solid' piece either on one or both sides.

Fig. 7 represents a pawn or an ordinar piece used in other. games. These pawns consist of a flat disk D, of suitable materialas, for example, tinwhich may be shaded on both sides to represent a perspective view of a solid pawn or draughtsman and is provided with a narrow slit H, running part way across the center. Throughthis slit there passes at right angles a flat tapering piece Rof the same 'orfany desired material. This piece R is provided at about one-third of its length from the broader end with two notches IL, which fit in the substance of the disk D and hold the piece R with respect to the .disk. The shoulders which form these notches are designed to engage the two surfacesof the disk and prerent the piece R from slipping through the-slot H under ordinary conditions. Theslot H has tobe sufficien'tly wide to allow the piece R to move freely in either direction until it lies nearly fiat against the disk D. When the narrow end of the piece R is pushed dowii between two tubes T, the disk D lies fiat on a square of the board, and when the board is folded up. the piece it is free to tilt over with 'theetubes as they collapse, while the disk D remains flat upon the surface of the tube.

Thevbroad curved end of the piece R can be used as a handle for moving the'draughtsmen 4 from srguareto square. v"When a king is re- 5 viewed, the draughtsman can be turned upside teases down, so that the broad end can be pushed between the tube, leaving the narrow end projecting upwardly. This narrow-end is preferably stamped with-some designating word or 'cliaracter as, for." example; king or queen" jso as to show for-what the pawn has beensubstituted.

.Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is- 1. A chess or draught board comprising a" support with a hinge across the middle, rec

tangular tubes running across the board parallel'to the direction of the hinge, five on each side of the -hinge, the two contiguous to the hinge being of half the width of the others, a series of thin ribbons secured to the tops of the whole of the tubes for holding. them togethelzhand the four bends or corners of all the tubes being pliable, sothat on doubling. 5

.up or closing the'board, the two tubes consolidgame-pieceprovided witha flat tapering piece of material passing through the 1 middle at rightangles, but .freeto move in either direction so as to be able' to lie practi:

cally fiat against the disk; the longerend of v this vertical piece being markedw-ith a dis tinguishing mark. v

4'. A-game-board com prising a support, and r a series of tubes loca'ted thereon parallel to each other, said tubes having flexible corners and game-squares provided with means adapted toreceive game-pieces,aflixed to theirupper 1 I0 surfaces.

5*. A game-board comprisinga support, and e a seriesof tubes located thereon parallel to each other, said tubes having squares thereon, and a slit in the interior of each square.

6. A game-board comprising asupport, a series of parallel tubes located thereon, gamesquares onsaid tubes, said squares having openings between each two adjacent tubes adapted to receive game'pieces. I20 7. A folding game-board comprising a support in two parts hinged together, and a sdries of rectangular tubes secured to the support parallel to the hinge, said tubes [laying flexible corners'and having fneans adapted to re- 5 ceive game 

